The Clemson College Sheep Barn is a two-story barn built in 1915 on the Clemson University campus. It is the oldest surviving building associated with agriculture on this Land-grant university. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on January 4, 1990.HistoryThe Barnes Center began as the Clemson College Experimental Barn or ‘Sheep Barn.’ The barn is the oldest surviving and relatively intact structure associated with the original Clemson College Agricultural Department and was built in approximately 1904.The barn was extremely significant from 1904 to 1940 when it was used for agricultural exploration and experimentation. During this time, livestock practices were changing in order to prevent diseases, improve hygiene, and to increase productivity. The barn was created in order to support these goals as an agricultural education facility that investigated scientific problems that directly affected the advancement of agriculture.The barn began by researching the handling and care of cows, but became retrofitted to research sheep. As recently as 1935, the barn was used for hands on class instruction including determining wool quality and sheep judging. Some of the equipment remained intact within the structure until construction on The Barnes Center began. The barn was listed in The James Way Plan Book as a research participant. In 1940, the agricultural operations ceased and then the barn has been used for storage. On January 4, 1990, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its significance.In 2014, the Barnes Family gave a gift to Clemson University and the Sheep Barn became the Barnes Center. The Barnes Center is the social destination of campus where students can come make friends, relax, and attend late night programming every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. The Barnes Center Grand Opening was February 18, 2017.
